I’m sharing a breakthrough that arrived this morning, a breakthrough that’s been on its way for a while. I’m tender about it. It’s new and vulnerable. Though really it is at least as old as I am.
I’m getting clear on my mission. It involves these beliefs:
- The arts belong to everybody
- The arts help us know ourselves and each other
- Falling in love with ourselves and each other is crucial to the survival and thrival of humanity and this planet
When watching this beautiful meditation, I was aware that as Virginia Fitton talks about the beauty of the world and our connectivity, there are no images of people. And I remembered when I asked the question over at Carrie and Danielle, “How do you fall in love with the world?” how mostly it never had anything to do with people, though sometimes children were involved. This breaks my heart.
I believe our lack of love for ourselves as humans is a bigger crisis than the economic one, a bigger crisis than the environmental one. More people are killed by each other every day than by environmental disasters. People are dying from neglect and lack of compassion. I am not saying we don’t make it hard to love one another. We surely do. So, how can we fall in love with one another? How do we fall in love with ourselves?
I think one of the answers is through art.
When I first studied Nia, I had no intention of teaching. I simply wanted to deepen my learning of the practice. One day, I volunteered to hand out flyers at a Nia demonstration. When the demo started, I walked amidst the women watching, and I could see the yearning. I literally saw women stop in their tracks, eyes glued to the stage. All these women wanted to dance. And in that moment I knew there had to be more teachers, and I could be one of them. So I started.
Years ago I read a novel where a young and inexperienced heroine was about to throw herself into a dangerous situation. Her friend said to her, “Why you? Why not get someone else? Someone stronger, more experienced?” And she replied, “Because I am the one who sees the need.”
And so, I may not be the strongest or the most experienced or the most talented (or I might be!), but I’ve got my share of each of those things and I see the need. I bring a toolkit full of love, creativity and courage, a heartfelt desire to make a difference and a belief that it can be done.
And just in case you need a little help falling in love with us, as people, perhaps something in here will touch your heart.